Colorado Fall Colors 2015 Workshop Registration Now Open!

We are once again happy to announce the Colorado Fall Colors Workshop, which will be taking place in one of the most picturesque locations in the world, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. A number of our readers have been inquiring about this workshop already, so after working out the schedule, I decided to open up the registration and provide some details about the workshop. This photography workshop will take place from September 24-27, so we are adding an extra day to the workshop to see and photograph more beautiful locations in the area. Get ready to learn a lot, shoot a lot and enjoy quality time with like-minded people that share your passion. And best of all, we will be doing it in a vacation-style environment, not in a typical hotel!

Instructor: Nasim Mansurov. Regarded as one of the most beautiful locations in the world for fall foliage, the San Juan Mountains of Colorado are breathtaking and absolutely stunning for photography. This workshop will combine a pre-workshop class on landscape photography, with the experience of photographing beautiful scenery in different areas of the San Juan range. We will travel together in cars and stop at the most scenic locations throughout the day, starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. Education will be provided throughout the workshop and the instructor will spend one on one time with each participant. The goal is to learn how to capture beautiful landscapes in both normal and challenging lighting conditions. After coming back from the photo shoots, we will spend the last day learning how to post-process images.

Compared to last year, the workshop will span a total of 4 days instead of 3. There is a lot to see in the area, so the additional day will be very beneficial for all participants.

Just like last year, we will all be staying at lodges at a campground instead of a hotel! I have been staying at the Ouray KOA Campground for the past 3 years and last year we all had a blast! The campground hosts are amazing and the cabins are very nice and cozy. And if anyone prefers to travel to Colorado in a trailer, the Ouray KOA is a great place to stay at (I will be staying in an RV, right next to the cabins). In addition, staying at the campground is cheaper compared to staying at a hotel, especially if you share your cabin with someone else (some larger cabins accommodate up to 6 people).

This workshop is by far the most popular one we have offered in the past and it usually fills up within 24 hours. Just like last year, we will also offer an additional day for extra shooting / individual session with the instructor.

For more details about this workshop, check out Emily Fagan’s guest post, where she described the workshop and provided some sample images from our workshop in 2012. We will limit this workshop to 10-12 people. Here are some some of the images from past workshops:

Getting there: Colorado local residents might prefer driving to the location. If you are from out of state / different country, the best option is to fly into Grand Junction (usually connecting through Denver or another hub), rent a car and drive to Ridgway, CO. Generally, flying into Grand Junction is cheaper than flying into Telluride. Once you reserve your spot, it might be a good idea to coordinate flight schedule with others in the group to see if it is possible to share car rental fees.

What to bring with you: your fully charged camera, memory cards and a tripod. If you are wondering about what lens(es) to take with you, we recommend a good wide angle zoom lens (a 16-35mm, 16-85mm, 18-55mm or 24-70mm will do perfectly fine) and a good normal to telephoto lens that covers up to 200mm of focal length for more distant shots. Kit lenses and super wide angle lenses are fine too, although I personally recommend to get something sharper for the best quality details / prints. Make sure that your lens has a filter thread, since we will be relying on filters a lot. A polarizing filter is a must-have – see “must-have filters for landscape photography” post for more details. I also recommend a graduated ND filter (two stop or 0.6 ND is ideal), but if you don’t have one, then you can just borrow from us – we will have a couple of sets for participants. Absolutely make sure to bring warm clothes and gloves for the sunrise shots. Late September can get quite cold in the mountains. I will provide more detailed information on what to bring to each participant when we get closer to the workshop date. Most communication will be handled over email and phone.

Please do not book your campsite accommodation yet, as we will have group rates for participants later this year when the campground opens.

Cost

The workshop cost is $900 per participant and $300 for the extra day (individual one-on-one sessions).

Discounts

We value those who serve in the military, so if you or your spouse are active military or in reserves, you will be eligible towards an additional 15% discount. If you qualify for a military discount, please contact us via the “Contact Us” page and after your military status is verified, we will provide a coupon code to use.

How to Sign Up

In order to sign up for the above workshop, please use our secure Workshop Registration page. Please note that the fees are fully refundable between now and July 24, 2014.

Workshop fees do not include lodging, transportation or food.

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About Nasim Mansurov

Nasim Mansurov is the author and founder of Photography Life, based out of Denver, Colorado. He is recognized as one of the leading educators in the photography industry, conducting workshops, producing educational videos and frequently writing content for Photography Life. You can follow him on Instagram, 500px and Facebook. Read more about Nasim here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

1) Jean Daniel

January 21, 2015 at 6:42 am

What? “Military discount?” And I don’t see a discount for needy Europeans like me? What a shame! :-)

Good day, Nasim! A wonderful announcement. I like workshops. I have few questions/comments:

1. I am still anxiously awaiting a summary article and photos from your previous Fall workshop in 2014. It would be helpful to read from you and others how the last workshop fared and see nice photos, too. That would be helpful. I read an older article about this workshop from a year or two ago, I recall, but a summary about the most recent one would be great.

2. Congratulations on your new life decision in photography. Very exciting development.

3. Will readers hear from your Photography Life contributor, Francois Malan? I remember long time ago, you introduced us to him, but I do not think I have seen his work and pieces here, unless I missed them.

4. Any more series articles from the photography blogosphere from Lola? I really liked those. Interesting and entertaining reads.

5. Do you plan to plan to publish more articles in your “Case” series from a few years ago. I found those articles to be very helpful in learning, even more than reading about the “latest greatest gear”. You current ones on techniques are great, too, but the Case series is the best. It would be great to see that revived.

1) I have not had time to work on an article for the fall workshop in 2014. I posted some of the pictures in the latest reviews and other articles (see the D750 review, for example). 2) Thank you, I am excited about this change! 3) Francois Malan has gotten very busy with his job in South Africa, so he let me know that he will focus on that for now. Hopefully things will get easier for him and he will resume contributing again. 4) Lola is very busy with kids and homeschooling. She will soon resume some of her online work and will hopefully contribute more to PL. 5) Case studies would be good to resume. Perhaps we will restart the series again – thank you for your suggestion!

We have absolutely loved your workshops, Nasim, and we have learned so much from you! Not only is Colorado a totally stunning place to visit and photograph in the fall, but the photo critique session you held this year was incredibly valuable. Listening to you and John Sherman go back and forth with your comments and suggestions about each student’s photographs was a true education in itself. Thanks for ratcheting our photography up a notch!

Nasim, please clarify the workshop dates shown on the registration page. The 1st option lists Sept 24-27. The second option, list 3 additional days the 23, 28 & 29. What is occurring on Sept 23? What is happening on Sept 28 and 29?

David, I apologize for the confusion. The first option from 24-27 is the main workshop. The other dates are for individual / one on one sessions for those that want to spend an extra day on shooting or perhaps post-processing images. You will have to attend the main workshop before you can add the extra day, as the extra day is not meant to be a separate workshop on its own.

Nasim, I’ve registered and I’m looking forward to attending your workshop. Any way that spouses who aren’t into photography can come along & stay at Ouray & enjoy the sites without spending the day with the group? Any suggestions based on your previous workshops?

Yes, I believe a few people will be coming with spouses that will not participate in the workshop. There is plenty to do in the Ridgway / Ouray area in the fall, so they can explore places or just enjoy the campground.

John, due to my fault, I ended up overbooking the workshop by a few people. Would you be interested in participating the following week? Perhaps starting from the 28th till the 1st of October? If yes, then I will get in touch with others and see if we can split up the group into two. Please let me know!

Nasim, I will confirm this and get back to you by tomorrow. If my wife chose not to participate can she follow along without a camera just to take in the sights. I can see where this could cause problems but I was just wondering.

John, there is limited availability for the second workshop. Please use the registration link ASAP to secure your spot. As for your wife, unfortunately, we will have limited space in cars to be able to take spouses (roads are a bit rough and we need as few cars as possible). We have a few participants coming with their spouses and they can either group together and do something at the campground, or perhaps drive together to different locations to sightsee. I can certainly help with their planning, as I know the area very well.

Nasim, Looking forward to the September workshop immensely. Have been reading up on your past comments regarding filters(the ones I own are quite limited and I suspect of poor quality). Based on your prior reviews, I feel I need to get a warm polarizing filter such as the Singh-Ray warming 77mm filter, a soft edge 0.6 graduated filter and was also considering the 77 mm variable ND from Singh-Ray. I am also considering a reverse grad filter for the sunrises/sunsets in my area. I noticed in one of your posts that you are frequently hand holding your graduated filters rather than using a filter holder. If so, it makes me wonder that if one does not using a filter holder, why you could not hold one of those normal graduated filters upside down to mimic a reverse grad filter?. I realize that this idea of mine might be ridiculous. Also, would you recommend that someone without a lot of experience forget the idea of hand holding a grad filter, and just buy a filter holder. If you think that is the better route, which would you recommend, the Lee set or the Corkin Z Pro holder. Thank you for this great site.

Paul, I apologize for a late reply – for some reason I did not get an email notification about your comment. Looks like you have filters figured out – Singh-Ray makes some of the finest filters on the market and I certainly recommend them. In regards to hand-holding filters, yes, I do that quite often, but only when I need to do it fast. If I have the time to set up my camera on a tripod, mount a filter holder and I don’t need to change lenses, then I use a filter holder, as that is much more comfortable and easier to use. Plus, there is no threat of potential shake or light leaking through the sides of the filter, or my fingers appearing in photos.

As for the reverse GND filter, it is not really possible to use a regular GND upside down – the part where the darkest side of the filter is very close to the edge of the filter and you certainly do not want to cover your filter on only part of your lens, as you will have a defined line. Also, if you look at a reverse GND, you will see that the middle portion is also graduated for smoother transition. You cannot really replicate the effect with a regular filter…

I would get a Lee filter holder with either Lee filters, or higher quality filters from Singh-Ray / other high-end brands. Filters can get quite expensive, so I would recommend to get a set of 0.6 and 0.9 filters.

Hope this helps and I am looking forward to seeing you this fall!

P.S. It might be a good idea to copy this message to emails, so that others in the workshop can see the communication.

Nasim, 1. I have not received a notification that my application for this seminar was accepted. Please let me know. 2. I will be travelling by car with my wife. Should I make a cabin reservation at this time?

Keith, I apologize for a late response! Strange that you did not receive an email from our system, as it should have sent it the moment you registered. I sent an email earlier today – could you please check your mailbox and make sure that you reply to it?

As for the cabin reservation, not yet – KOA is closed at the moment and it is best to do it when they open in March. I will make sure to get a group reservation code, so that everyone can enjoy a nice discount.

Nasim, just a consideration for next year. The Telluride Photo Festival is Oct. 1-3 this year. I will be attending. You might want to have your workshop closer to the time of the Festival next year. This way we could attend your workshop and then head on over to Telluride for the Festival afterwards. For your attenders of Nasim’s workshop, it is not too late to wait a few days longer and attend this year’s Festival. Contact me at my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/jaygosdinphoto for additional accommodations info. I am amazed at how cheap you can get rooms for in Telluride at this time of the year.

Well I’m here in Telluride and the aspens are glorious! The mountains around Ridgway are still a few days from peaking which means Nasims group probably had to hunt harder this year for the colors. I will not have any trouble here and will enjoy the photo festival to boot. If anyone else is here give me a shoutout. [email protected]

Comment Policy: Although our team at Photography Life encourages all readers to actively participate in discussions, we reserve the right to delete / modify any content that does not comply with our Code of Conduct, or do not meet the high editorial standards of the published material.

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